


What's to Expect?

by ilovemiax



Category: Fortysomething, Torchwood
Genre: F/M, Jack and Ianto are married, M/M, OFC is Jack and Ianto's daughter, Rift (Torchwood), Tosh and Owen are married, mentions of eleventh doctor, mickey and martha come in for a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:53:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6163195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovemiax/pseuds/ilovemiax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jack is kidnapped by a Rift creature, Ianto Jones investigates. He and their daughter move to America to live with Paul Slippery and his family. AU Fortysomething/Torchwood</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Disappearance of Captain jack Harkness

**Author's Note:**

> Post Children of Earth where Jack’s dying kiss to Ianto makes him immortal as well. And just because I didn’t like the fact that Tosh and Owen died, in this story, they never did.  
> Also this story mostly focuses on Rory/OFC. So, don't complain, I'm warning you now.  
> Also posted on fanfiction.net
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, Doctor Who, or Fortysomething. I wish I did.

**Prologue: The Disappearance of Captain Jack Harkness**

Captain Jack Harkness and his husband Ianto Jones ran across the Cardiff docks chasing a Weevil that crawled out of the rift, into sewer and into civilization. It was taken down within an hour and tossed into the Torchwood truck and then deposited within a cell. The couple made their way up to the travel agency. Jack leaned Ianto over the break room desk. “Good work, Ianto!” Jack grinned wrapping his arm around Ianto’s wait, kissing him hard.

“Careful sir,” Ianto responded playfully, “That’s harassment.”

“Ew, seriously?” Jack pulled himself off Ianto, who gave an awkward cough and fixed his suit, avoiding their daughter’s gaze.

After Jack and Ianto got married, they decided that wanted kids. Finding a surrogate mother, and using Torchwood technology, both Ianto and Jack were able to have a son and a daughter that were biologically theirs. Twenty-three years later, Jack and Ianto were able to completely hide Torchwood and all alien life forms hidden from their children’s view, as well as Jack and Ianto’s immortality. Although Gwen, Rhys, Tosh, and Owen disagreed, they knew better than to object. If Jack and Ianto thought it would be best to shelter their children, then so be it.

“It’s three in the morning,” Ianto said gathering himself, “you should be asleep.”

“So should you,” was the objection, “besides, I was vid chatting with Nick.”

“How is he?” Jack queried about his son. He made a motion to go upstairs to their flat. Luna sighed blowing air through pursed lips; an unsuccessful attempt at moving the bangs fluttering across her face.

“Fine,” she sighed, entering their flat, “he’s working at one of those places where they feed starving children. And he also says that Uganda is bloody hot and he misses you.”

Jack nodded, pulled his daughter close and kissed her forehead. Ianto gave Luna a side hug. “Bed.” He instructed.

She rolled her eyes, “Night Dads.”

**One Month Later…**

Ianto stared at the Rift Monitor, his blood pumping, his heart crumbling. Jack had gone missing. It wasn’t like the time he ran away with the Doctor. This was different. Something was wrong and he needed to find Jack. It was a routine Weevil hunt, then a call from Tosh telling him about a Rift spike, and his world was shattered. Something out of the rift had taken Jack and no one knew where. Over the next few weeks, Tosh, Owen, and Gwen had managed to figure out that this thing could travel through the Rift, and it had taken Jack somewhere in America. Ianto made his decision. The ‘travel agency’ would be run by the newlywed Tosh and Owen while Gwen would take over leadership of Torchwood. And Ianto would take Luna, under the guise of expanding the family business, and move to America.


	2. Leaving the UK

**Leaving the UK**

**New York, America**

The Slippery’s household was bustling with life and excitement. After Paul had gotten a new job at the hospital in New York, the entire family decided to join him and move as well. However, this was not the cause of excitement in the Slippery household. No, it was the addition of a new person. Estelle, Paul’s wife, had an old friend, Ianto Jones, who was moving to America with his daughter, and needed a place to stay. She opened up their house to the Ianto and his daughter, much to Paul’s disapproval, but didn’t object. Paul Slippery’s three sons were very eager to meet the new female that would soon be living with them. After leaving their girlfriends behind in London, the boys were very eager for female contact. “What do you think she’s like?” Daniel wondered aloud to his brothers.

“I bet she’s hot hot hot!” Edwin exclaimed excitedly and with a broad grin.

“Oh please,” Rory, the eldest, interjected, “She could be twelve years old! Estelle didn’t say anything about her. We can’t just assume she’s our age. And even if she was our age, you can’t let your libidos control you. She’s moving to a new country.”

“Right,” Daniel said, “And I’ll be there to comfort her.” He grinned making a kissy face.

“You’re disgusting.”

 

**Cardiff, Wales**

Luna stared at her now empty room with pure disapproval and a sour taste in her mouth. She lay on her back staring that the ceiling. After her dad disappeared without a trace, the family made a decision to move to America. “To expand the family business” was the actual excuse. Leave Cardiff and memories far behind them. Ianto had explained that they would be staying with an old friend of his. The Jones family had a travel agency, with a flat above the shop, which was given to the Harpers and Williams, old friends of Ianto and his missing partner. Ianto poked his head into Luna’s room, “Are you ready?”

“No. I don’t want to move to America. I like it here.”

“I know you do.” Ianto sat next to his daughter’s stretched out form on the floor. “But you’ve been to America before. It’s nothing extremely new.”

“Yes it is. I don’t want to live in New York. I want to stay here.” There was a long stretch of silence. “I wish Dad never left… And I wish that Nick wasn’t in Uganda.”

“Luna, he’s doing good.”

“I know. Just…I wish he was here.”

 

**New York, America, La Guardia Airport**

Luna and Ianto stood at the terminal awaiting the Slippery family. Estelle had insisted in personally picking them up. Ianto at once recognized Estelle and Paul who were making their way towards them. They were followed by their three sons. Ianto greeted Estelle with a hug and Paul with a firm handshake. Luna shook hands with Paul and Estelle before her attention was focused on their sons. Rory, Daniel, and Edwin were genuinely surprised at Luna’s appearance. They had all been expecting a petite female, similar to their previous girlfriends. She was that complete opposite. Luna was about 5’5” with deep red hair that fell to her shoulders, emerald green eyes, and looked like she knew how to handle herself. “Hello, I’m Luna Jones.” She did not proffer a hand to shake; her voice held a significant Welsh accent.

Rory was the first to gather himself, “I’m Rory and these are my brothers—”

“Edwin,” Edwin pushed himself in front of Rory and took Luna’s hand in his own, “Nice to meet—ah!”

The youngest Slippery was shoved aside by Daniel, who gave his best seductive grin, “I’m Daniel.”

Luna just looked at them with no sort of expression. “Right.” She looked to her father, “Father….”

“Ah, right.” The Jones and Slippery family took their leave of the airport and back to the Slippery house.

 

 

“This will be your room, Luna. It’s a guest room, so I hope it’s alright.” Estelle gave Luna a comforting smile, “If you ever need anything, my room is down the hall, and your father is downstairs.”

Luna smiled back, “It’s lovely, thank you.”

Estelle turned around and left Luna by herself in the empty bedroom. Her new room smelled dusty and stale, like cardboard. She took in a huge breath filling her cheeks with air and expelled the air through her nose before finally letting out the air within her cheeks. Without much care, Luna dropped her bags on the floor and walked to the locked window. Running her fingers over the sill, she pulled her hands away, wiping dust on her jeans. Attempting to open the window, she found that it was stuck fast. She tugged harder, trying to force the window up and let fresh air in. “Need help?” Luna jerked around upon hearing that baritone voice belonging to Rory. She said nothing and stepped aside proffering the window to the oldest Slippery. Rory walked to the window placing his hands under the window lock. “The trick is just to-” A harsh shove popped the window open, “-wiggle it.” He stepped back with a small, yet proud smile. When he turned to look at her, Luna was looking out the window, a look that seemed dejected, lonely, and homesick. “I know it’s not exactly Wales, but…” Rory trailed off, “Sorry. You must really hate it here.”

Luna shrugged, “I don’t hate it. Not completely. I mean… this isn’t my first time in America. My dad, my other dad, I mean, is American.” She glanced over at him, lingering for a while.

Rory was genuinely surprised, “So you’re half-”

“American.”

“That’s fascinating!”

“Are you being sarcastic?” Luna questioned with that smart-mouth tone.

“No! Not at all!”

“I see you two are getting comfortable.” Daniel shoved his head through the open door to glare at his older brother. “And without me!”

“Or me!” Edwin appeared behind Daniel. Both boys then proceeded to enter the room and crowd by the window.

Luna was quick to make a move for the door. “I’m going to go check on my dad.” Within seconds, Luna had bolted from the room and was down the stairs.

“Oh great,” Edwin complained; “Now she’s gone.”

“That’s because you both are too intrusive and scared her off.” Rory’s irritated reply caused the younger siblings to look at him with indigence.

“Geez, Rory, since when were you such a dick?” Daniel answered with an obvious irritation.

Rory was firm and defensive, “I’m not being a dick. She’s in a new country and needs to adjust. She doesn’t need you sex maniacs going after her.”

“Look who’s talking! When you and Lucy were together, it was non-stop sex!” Daniel shouted back.

 

 

Ianto opened his laptop initiating a video call with Tosh, Owen, and Gwen. “How are you Ianto?” Gwen asked.

“Tired…is there anything on Jack?”

Tosh shook her head, “Sorry, Ianto. But I was able to pinpoint the highest spike in Rift activity. It is right in the heart of New York City, more specifically, I’ve narrowed it down to a fifteen mile radius. Don’t worry; the house you’re staying at is five miles outside the radius. You guys are safe.”

“No we’re not.” Ianto said softly, “Not until Jack is here.” There was a thump of feet on the stairs. “I’ve got to go, Luna’s coming.” He shut the laptop and pulled out a few suits.

After hearing the boys arguing upstairs, Luna rushed into her father’s room. Ianto was there already unpacking a few suits. He turned around to see his homesick daughter. “How are you?” The suits were placed on the bed, covering the laptop, before Ianto turned to his daughter.

Luna’s facial expression beheld the saddest expression, even worse than when her father, his partner, had disappeared. “I want to go home.” Ianto sighed and pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Luna, this is our home now. I know it’s not something that you understand, but please, try to accept it.”

“I’ll try, but it doesn’t mean that I’m going to enjoy it.” Luna somberly responded, her voice muffled by Ianto’s suit.

 

 

The first dinner that both families shared was, in an understatement, awkward. Filled with small talk from Estelle, Luna felt that everything was all wrong. Never the less, she endured the meaningless talk in hopes of appeasing her father. “So, how was the agency going?” Estelle addressed the question to Ianto.

“It’s doing well, I’m going to see the new shop tomorrow afternoon.” Ianto answered, “As soon as things are running smoothly, we’ll find a flat and be out of your way.”

Estelle shook her head, “It’s no bother, no bother at all! You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

Daniel let off a predator smile, “Especially you.” The grin was proffered at Luna who scooted her chair closer to Ianto. She gave his that look of “you creep” and “stay the hell away from me”. Rory and Estelle shot Daniel a dirty look causing him to press his lips together.

 

           

The next morning Luna awoke to the sun shining in her eyes blinding her momentarily once she opened them. Groaning, she turned over so her back was to the sun blazing through the window’s glass. She gave up on trying to go back to sleep once she remembered where she really was. She lay in her sleeping bag (beds hadn’t been placed yet) staring at the white washed ceiling. Vaguely wondering what time it was, Luna rolled over on her stomach and let off another frustrated groan. “What am I doing here?” Luna thought of Cardiff and the travel agency. Then, without warning, Rory’s face jumped into her mind. She shot upright in her sleeping bag, eyes widening with shock. “Why did I think of him!?” She shook her head and dismissed the thought. Luna wondered how Rory must’ve felt when he moved to America. Unlike her, he’d never been to America. “Well, I’m already living with him; I might as well make friends.”

 

 

Rory found a new job at the local homeless shelter; similar to the one when he lived in Westminster. As he found a box of paper clips, he began to organize them by color and size, and then proceeded to create a long paper clip chain necklace. His thoughts began to wander and he found himself thinking about Luna. He felt sorry for her; she didn’t have any siblings to keep her company like he did, and she probably left all her friends behind. “Wait! Why am I thinking about her?” Rory knew that he was a colossal womanizer and would love to have a girlfriend, but Luna? Dating her almost seemed unthinkable, but at the same time, he wanted to be more than just her friend. He wanted her to be…. Rory shook his head. She would never agree to be with him. After all, their first reception was not exactly what anyone would call… pleasant. Rory was suddenly aware of the faint clop of shoes that had begun to approach him. Figuring it was probably just some homeless person wandering he called out, “Can I help you with something?”

“I don’t know, can you?”

“H-hello.” The English boy was very surprised and sat up straighter in his swivel chair. Luna stood in front of him, her red hair pulled back into a ponytail, a few stray strands dusting the rest of her face.


	3. Meeting You, Meeting Me

Rory bolted up from his seat faster than he intended which resulted in him smashing his knee against the bottom of the table. He let out a cry of pain and Luna just looked at him with amusement. “You alright?” Luna laughed lightly placing her knuckles over her mouth.  
“Yeah, just great.” Rory winced and grimaced rubbing his knee. “How-how did you know where I was?”  
“I asked Estelle.”  
“Right…. So um…”  
“I um…” Luna sighed running her fingers through her ponytail. “This is awkward, yeah?”  
“Yeah.” There was a really long moment of awkwardness between the two.   
“So… what are you doing here?”  
“Honestly?” Luna said with a soft sigh, “I figured I might as well make a friend since I’m going to be living here from now on. Appease my dad, make a friend. And I’m living with you now, so… I’ve got to start somewhere.”  
“Well, I suppose that you’ve got to.” If Luna didn’t know better, she’d say that Rory sounded disappointed.  
“I-I mean, not that I’m forcing myself to be friends with you! I-I just, I-I mean-”  
“Right! Of course!”  
Another long and awkward silence followed. “We’re really good at this awkward silence thing, aren’t we?” Luna finally said.  
“Then why don’t we start over, from the beginning.”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
“I’ll start.” Rory put out his hand in a gesture, “I’m Rory Slippery. I’m twenty-four and I live in the bedroom next to yours.”  
Luna shook his hand and smiled, “Nice to meet you Rory, I’m Luna Jones. I’m twenty-one and I live in the bedroom with the jammed window.”  
“Since I’m going to be your first friend in America, how about you and I go and get tea and get to know each other more?”  
“Rory Slippery, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were asking me out on a date.” Luna quirked another smile at Rory.  
“I can promise you that my intentions are pure. I-I-I mean-”  
“I get it.”  
Tea ended up taking place at the Slippery household since it was the only place that served tea that they both preferred. Both had snuck into the house hoping to steal the tea and make it somewhere else, but since the house had proved to be empty (shockingly) they decided to stay.  
Luna took the soggy tea bag out of the cup and placed it on the saucer.   
“Okay, your turn. Tell me about Cardiff.” Rory said, abandoning his tea and picking up the bag of Jelly Babies stashed in the cupboard behind him. Luna snagged one from the bag.  
“I liked it. More than liked it. Loved it. Every morning I would wake up and see the bay from outside my window. It helped that we lived by the docks.” She chewed thoughtfully then added, “You probably already know, but we had this travel agency and we lived in the flat above.” Rory nodded. “Yeah, well… my brother, Nick, and I would run the shop, before Nick went to Uganda, when Dad and Father were busy… which was… a lot. They really liked hunting together and when they weren’t hunting, they were off doing tours or something in that bloody awful black truck.” She laughed bitterly, “You know, I never really understood what they did. It was always so….secretive and…just bloody weird…” Luna took a sip of tea, supping it with both hands, and looked at Rory, “You’re turn.”  
Rory cleared his throat putting down his cup, “Right. So after Paul decided he wanted to expand the surgery to America, Pilfrey took over the surgery back home. Basically, the family got uprooted and I ended up here. I got a job at the homeless shelter, I did that back home too. And now I’m talking to you.”  
“How dull.”  
“Thanks,” Rory laughed.  
“You’re welcome.” Luna scoffed back.   
“Question for you, take it any way you like, but…are you usually this, sarcastic?”  
“Depends on the day. What about you? Are you always this…dull or…?” Luna smiled comically, but gentle.  
“Mostly, yes. I’m afraid I don’t make much of an interesting conversation.”  
“I disagree. You’re quite interesting. I mean, there are aspects of your life that are so much more interesting than mine. More common. I like that.”  
It got quite for a few moments before Rory found himself leaning in just a bit closer to Luna. “You like common?” His voice had gotten slightly softer.  
Luna nodded, her voice also becoming softer, “Yeah…common….” Their faces were so close Rory could feel Luna’s soft, peach fuzz skin, her warm breath against his own lips, their hearts nearly leaping out of their chests, blood rushing fast to their faces, palms sweaty, eyes dilated.  
“THERE YOU ARE!” Rory and Luna turned, the moment shattered. Both awkwardly cleared their throats pulling away, brushing their hair back, and a guilty sparing glace towards the other.  
“Hi Daniel,” Luna greeted as if nothing happened. Daniel dragged a chair, making a harsh, grating sound on the floor, and forcibly placed himself between Luna and Rory.  
“SO! Whatcha talking about?”  
“Nothing,” Rory forced out, steaming with a contained irritation, “Just stuff.”  
Daniel grabbed a handful of Jelly Babies, “what kind of stuff?”  
Edwin shoved his face into the kitchen, “Hi!” He too grabbed a chair, ramming it between Daniel and Luna. He very nearly shoved his face into hers. Luna backed away fast, shooting a wide eyed and irritated glance at Rory.  
Luna pulled out her phone, “My dad just texted, I’ve got to go,” she lied. She pushed her chair back fast, placing her teacup on the table, “See you later.” Then she was gone, disappearing out of the house.

Within the city, Ianto followed the rift spike attempting to create a more exact location. “Excuse me,” He asked a passerby.  
“Are you lost?” The woman asked.  
“No!” Ianto pulled out a fake ID, “Scotland Yard. I’m Inspector Jones. I was wondering if there were any strange happenings here within the past month.”  
The woman laughed, “Scotland Yard? Wow. This is New York, there’s always something weird happening.”  
“Nothing ridiculously out of place then?”  
“Not that I can recall. But, come to think of it, my son mentioned that he saw floating lights in the sky. It happened about a month ago, if that’s what you mean. I doubt Scotland Yard is interested in floating lights.” She laughed again, “Sorry, I couldn’t be more help.”  
“No, right. Thank you.” Ianto forced a smile and watched the woman walk away. “Did you get that Tosh?” He asked pressing his hand to the Torchwood earpiece.  
“Yup, every word of it.”  
“She isn’t wrong Ianto,” Gwen’s voice floated into the earpiece, “There were numerous sightings all over the city about these lights. It’s also happened again about seventy-eight years ago. People have been posting it all over the internet. Mostly on social networks and UFO boards.”  
“Well, they aren’t wrong about the alien thing.” Owen interjected, “All of them say the same thing. If anyone was awake around midnight then they saw the lights in the sky.”  
Ianto crinkled his forehead, confused, “But when I was with Jack, there weren’t any lights at all. Just a spike in Rift activity. Nothing abnormal.”  
“Actually, there was,” Tosh responded, “Everyone in Cardiff saw it, well, the ones who were awake.”  
“Then why didn’t I see it?” Ianto demanded.  
“You could have been distracted by hunting the Weevil, so you didn’t notice the lights.” Gwen suggested.  
“Maybe…” Ianto said thoughtfully, “Are there any pictures?”  
“I just sent them to you,” Tosh said.  
“Thanks.” The connection to Torchwood went dead and Ianto rustled through his pockets to find his phone. The pictures Tosh sent him weren’t exactly great quality, but they managed to capture a light similar to an exploding star within the aurora borealis. Shifting through all the pictures, he was able to make out a sort of crack shape, as if the sky itself was being split apart. “I have to get to a computer…”  
Ianto made it to the Slippery house, and after checking that no one was around, he uploaded all the videos to his laptop. Squinting at one of the better quality videos he thought he saw something. Slowing down the video feed, and zooming in on a particular section of the screen, he was barely able to make out the image of something shooting through the light crack. “What is that thing?” He muttered, leaning forward as if it would help him see better. Having an idea that it might be visible in the Cardiff videos, he played them side by side. He was right. This thing seemed to go into the crack in Cardiff and then reappear in New York. This thing had Jack, and it could travel through the Rift without getting hurt.


	4. An Apple A Day

“That’s brilliant Ianto!” Gwen marveled at the isolated video footage, “I can believe we missed that!”

“Yeah, but it still doesn’t tell us anything about where Jack is.”

“I’m just wondering what kind of thing can travel through the rift and not die. The only things I can think of are Time Agents, but that got shut down sometime in the 52nd century, so there shouldn’t be any more around.” Owen suggested.

“But what about John Hart?” Tosh pointed out.

“He saved Jack’s life though, why would he kidnap him?” Gwen questioned.

Ianto shook his head, “I don’t know. But there isn’t a way to get ahold of him, if we were to ask him for help.”

“What about the Doctor?” Tosh suggested, “I mean, he and Jack have a history and Jack’s always talking about him.”

“But how?” Owen demanded, “I mean this man-”

“Martha.” Gwen said, “Martha Jones, she was his companion and she’s working with UNIT, remember?”

 

“Hello?” Martha Jones sleepily answered her mobile, her eyes barely reading the three am on her alarm.

“Martha Jones? This is Ianto Jones, I’m with Torchwood.” Ianto’s static voice greeted.

Martha sat up, suddenly more alert. “Yes, I remember. Is everything alright?”

“No, Jack’s gone missing.”

“WHAT!?” She exploded, accidently disturbing Mickey from his sleep.

“What is it?” Mickey jumped, going into defense mode.

Martha turned her phone on speaker, “Jack’s in trouble,” she explained.

“Jack’s in trouble!?” Mickey repeated in astonishment.

“He disappeared about a month ago” Ianto began, “and it corresponds with a massive Rift spike that happened over London and New York.”

“So that’s what that was…” Martha murmured, “You could have called earlier.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I thought we’d be able to find him, but we’re desperate.” Ianto said, “but I’m in New York, with our daughter, and Torchwood’s been able to determine that whatever took Jack can travel through the Rift, unharmed.”

“What do want us to do?” Mickey asked.

“We were hoping you could get us in contact with The Doctor, and maybe he can help us.”

Martha nodded, “Will do. Good Luck.”

 

“Sorry about earlier,” Rory apologized, poking his head into Luna’s room. She was lying on her back on the sleeping bag with _The Hobbit_ stretched half an arm’s length away from her face. She wore one of her father’s t-shirts and pink sweatpants. She turned to the sound of his voice, red hair falling across her eyes and nose. She blew it away with a soft huff and sat up, the t-shirt bagging around her making her look comically small, and placed the book by her side.

“What for?” She asked, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rory leaned awkwardly against Luna’s door, “They are my brothers, so I feel responsible for them.” He looked down, unsure of what to do. He turned to leave.

Before she realized what she was dong, she called out, “Wait.” She scooted over on her sleeping bag, “W-why don’t you come it?”

Rory stood hesitantly in front of her door, his toes just barely crossing the threshold. “Won’t your father kill me?”

“Don’t do anything squirrely.” She responded smugly.

Rory laughed lightly, “Nothing squirrely, promise.” He joined Luna on her sleeping bag. A moment of silence passed, “You’re reading _The Hobbit_.”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite book. My father used to read it to me when I was a kid.”

“…Earlier, in the kitchen…” Rory attempted, unsure how to bring up the subject.

“You mean before…”

“Yeah…” There was another moment of awkward silence between the pair. Nether was looking at the other. Luna’s sweaty hands were clasped in her lap. “N-normally I wouldn’t…I mean…I-I’d get to know y-you first before I…well… I…”

“Get to know each other.” Luna blurted out swiftly.

“Right! But obviously, we just met and-”

“Totally…yeah, I-I get it.”

“We should get better at this awkward silence thing.” Rory looked at Luna.

She looked back at him, “We really should.” After look at each other, both suddenly burst out laughing.

“You’re getting acquainted, how nice!” Estelle smiled optimistically as she passed the hallway to see Rory and the new girl laughing.

“Hello Mrs. Slippery,” Luna greeted politely.

“Hey Mum.”

“Who’s getting better acquainted? I’d like to bet better acquainted!” Edwin eagerly jumped in shoving himself into Luna’s room. Rory and Luna’s faces simultaneously fell, but both were quick to force on a pleasant expression.

“No, Edwin,” Estelle pulled her youngest son away, “You have school tomorrow.” Edwin gave a sour face, and then attempted to seductively wink at Luna. She forced herself not to shudder.

“Thanks Mum,” Rory gasped with relief.

Estelle nodded, “Don’t stay up too late, you’ve got work tomorrow, and I’m sure Luna’s busy too.” Estelle left and Rory got on his knees to get up and leave. Letting his body take over, he leaned over and pecked Luna on the cheek, the bolted out the door leaving Luna with her heart pounding, and red faced.


	5. Hold me, I'm a Fermata

“Come on, Paul! We’re going to be late!” Estelle called from the car in exasperation. The entire family had decided it would be a good day for both the Slipperys and the Jones to have a day to better get to know each other. It had been nearly half a month and everyone was generally so busy, no one had really had the time to fully spend together. This was going to be that day. They were all going to go to Central Park of a nice picnic and a musical performance by some local jazz band. They all managed to cram into a rented van with Luna and Rory in the very back, Edwin and Daniel in the middle, with Estelle and Paul in the front. Ianto would meet them in the park after taking care of last minute business. _“Paul,”_ Estelle mentally signaled her husband, “ _If you don’t get down here now, we’re not having sex later.”_ It did the trick and Paul was down by the car in an instant.

“Ready to go!” He said with a false enthusiasm.

In the car, Daniel and Edwin turned in their seats to talk to Rory and Luna, mostly Luna. They’d gotten better at talking and Luna got better at placidly entertaining them. “What is that?” Daniel accused Edwin, seeing his younger brother fondling something in his hand.

“Nothing!” Edwin said, moving his hand up and away from his grabby brother. Luna reached out and snatched it from his hand.

“Golden Lappish Love Potion,” Luna read aloud, “will work on anyone you desire.” Rory laughed.

“Seriously,” Paul gaped, “again? You boys really need to stop thinking about sex and girls.”

“Give that back!” Edwin made a grab for the tiny bottle. Luna laughed and batted his hands away, tossing the Love Potion to Rory, who tossed it to Daniel.

“Ooo! Slip it into any drink or food and the person will fall instantly in love!” Daniel mocked while reading the label, “Who’s the unlucky victim?” Another spurt of laugher from the back seat prompted Paul to snatch the bottle, eyeing it with speculation.

“Edwin,” Paul scolded, “I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you once bought an inventory of sex doll and other paraphernalia, or that fact that this is the second time you’re buying this phony love potion.”

“You bought an inventory of sex dolls?” Luna exclaimed incredulously.

“Strewn them all across the front lawn,” Rory added.

“That’s not fair.” Edwin whined, “How am I supposed to have sex?”

“You’re still a teenager,” Estelle pointed out, “you shouldn’t even be having sex.”

“Luna,” Paul asked, “Have you shagged Rory yet?”

“PAUL!” Rory and Estelle shouted while Luna looked absolutely mortified.

“Sorry, it was an honest question!”

“We haven’t shagged, and we don’t intend to.” Rory grit out through angry clenched teeth. It was an unspoken agreement between Luna and Rory that they keep the kiss a secret, a forgotten corner of their memory. Keeping that as a forgotten memory, they mutually moved on and appeared to everyone else, and to each other, as really good friends.

The arrival at the park and the unpacking of the car helped ease the newly created tension. Ianto’s arrival didn’t exactly help, as Rory couldn’t look him in the eye because he could only think about his father’s outspoken question.

“Did something happen in the car?” Ianto demanded suspiciously wrapping a protective am around his daughter’s shoulder.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Luna responded stealing a glance at Rory, “What have you been up to?”

“Dealing with a last minute appointment,” Ianto lied.

 

Three hours ago, Martha had delivered the bad news. The Doctor had died at Lake Silencio, Utah. The file was sent to him as confirmation. There would be no help.  “I’m so sorry…” Martha apologized, holding back her tears. Martha was doing her best to help, although it wasn’t much. They’d been able to further pinpoint the location of the Rift spike. They got it within a one mile radius and with the Empire State Building right in the center.

Ianto scoured the building. There would be no way to get in without drawing attention to himself. Recording it in his diary, he made his way down to Central Park to regroup with the Slipperys and Luna.

 

“How lovely,” Estelle sighed contented. There were murmured agreements as both families were sprawled out on the grass, the breeze wafting through their hair. Rory lay comfortably sandwiched between Luna and Daniel. Ever so slightly, he moved his hand, gently brushing it against Luna’s. The motion was reciprocated and both hands intertwined without a single glace at the other. Even Paul had to agree he was enjoying himself.

 

The car was soon packed, and Ianto would once again meet them back at the house forgetting that he left his laptop at the travel agency. Walking away from the car and across one of the numerous bridges, something didn’t feel right. “When something doesn’t feel right,” Ianto remembered Jack telling him, “always look to the corner of your eye. It makes you notice things…” Ianto stood in one spot. “Corner of my eye…” He murmured and caught the glimpse of something big and blue. A big, blue, phone box. The TARDIS. Unmistakably. Two figures disappeared into it. A woman with extremely curly hair and The Doctor (from the picture on his file), wearing a white tuxedo. The door closed and Ianto ran towards it. “Doctor!” He cried out, “Doctor!” Too Late. The TARDIS phased out and was gone.


	6. Ho Ho Hollow

The radio sang Christmas Carols and snow blanketed the city. Nearly ten months had passed and Ianto was feeling despair settling in his heart. Jack was nowhere to be found and the Rift hadn’t been active. All their leads were going cold. Torchwood was beginning to move on and Ianto was beginning to think he should actually start over in New York. Actually find a flat for him and Luna. Actually open a travel agency and let go of Torchwood and Jack. He would feel guilty now if he made Luna go back to Cardiff. She’d begun to settle down in New York and developed a brotherly relationship with the Slippery boys, especially Rory. Her room had finally been completed with a bed and posters on the wall.

The house around him was decorated with wreathes and cinnamon smells. The family tree stood proud and tall in the living room, coated delicately with glass icicles and fairy lights. Presents strategically placed around the tree really made it seem like it came straight out of a magazine.

Ianto’s ringing mobile got him out of his trance. He answered it with a dull, “Ianto Jones.”

“Merry Christmas to you too mate,” Owen sarcastically answered back.

“Sorry.”

“Listen, I know it’s been three months but, I’ve got what thing took Jack.”

Ianto automatically perked up, “Seriously!?”

“You didn’t think I was going to give up did you? He’s my captain too, you know.” Ianto could hear the smirk in Owen’s voice.

“What is it? Tell me!”

“It’s called a Hollowcall. It took me a lot of digging through Jack’s personal files, and it comes from the 50th century. These things are mutated forms of Time Agents. The ones who’s wrist strap malfunctioned and screwed them up. They began eating other people’s life energy as food. Similar to the Weeping Angels, but they don’t send them back in time. They keep them in a comatose until their life runs out.”

“But Jack’s immortal,” Ianto realized, “he’s an infinite food supply!”

“Precisely, that’s why the Rift hasn’t had an extreme spike since Jack disappeared.”

“But who is the Hollowcall?”

“Sorry, Ianto, no clue.”

“How do we kill it?”

“You have to cut off the food supply, in this case, Jack.”

“I’m not killing Jack.”

“I didn’t say you had to,” Owen snorted, “You have to contain the Hollowcall until it dies.”

“How long does that take?”

“Until Jack wakes up.”

“Thanks Owen. Merry Christmas.” Ianto hung up the phone. A smile spread to his face, hope once again filling his chest. They had a chance; Jack could be found and saved.

 

“I’m not playing Cludo with you.” Luna insisted.

“Why not?” Daniel and Edwin had poured the pieces all over Luna’s bedroom floor. She lay on the right side of bed, arms and head drooped over the edge, with Rory on the left, mimicking her position.

“Because you cheat!”

Daniel gasped, faking offense, “I’m hurt. You don’t trust me?”

“Of course not!” Rory interjected, “You always find a way to cheat, no matter what.”

“What about me?” Edwin feigned innocence.

“You are perhaps the cleverest at cheating. And that’s not a compliment.” Luna said pointing at him.

“What about Twister?” He winked.

“No.” Rory and Luna firmly stated.

Ianto stepped into his daughter’s bedroom. Luna ginned and waved, “Hi, Father.”

“Time for dinner.” Ianto smiled; glad to see his daughter no longer sulking about the move.

 

Dinner ensued and was promptly followed with the opening of gifts and bedtimes.

“Are you still awake?” Rory whispered into Luna’s room. The red haired girl turned in her bed and sat up, patting the bed as her answer. Rory shut the door behind him. “Sorry,” He whispered, “If you were still sleeping and I woke you.”

Luna shook her head, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“You too?”

“Yeah,” She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he put an arm around her, “I was just watching the stars. Reminds me of home.”

“Does it?”

“Because no matter where you are, there’s always someone looking up at the exact same sky. The exact same sky I would see outside my window in Cardiff.”

Rory smiled, gently resting his head on top of Luna’s. “Look!” He whispered excitedly. They both moved to the window, prying it open and poking their head outside breathing in the cold winter air.

“Wow…” Luna breathed. The sky above them was lit with golden lights. It lasted a few moments, and then disappeared, leaving behind a starlight sky and miraculous wonder. Rory and Luna pulled their heads in, closed the window, and relished the first few moments of warmth and the last moments of the golden lights. Rory leaned in, his left hand over Luna’s. His lips hovered over hers, hesitant and unsure. She tiptoed slightly and closed the gap between them.

 

In another part of New York City, a pale, cold hand stroked the cheek of a comatose Jack Harkness.


	7. Daddy Dearest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite what the chapter is called, there is no Daddy kink in this at all

“When and where?” Ianto urgently demanded Tosh.

“New York, just New York!” Tosh responded with the same amount of urgency. Loud consistent beeping turned the Japanese girl pale. “Oh no.”

“Oh no? Oh no what? “

“The new programming I installed into the Rift monitor… it allows me to pinpoint the highest spike on a geographical map. There were two.”

“Two?”

Tosh swallowed hard, “Two. One directly above the Empire State building.”

“And the other?”

“Directly above your house.”

Ianto paled, all color disappearing from his face, “It knows where we are. It knows!”

“But so do you.” Gwen comforted, “He’s directly under the Empire State building. If you can get in, you can find Jack and bring him home.”

 

Ianto crept along the side of the building. According to Tosh, there was a side ally and an underground tunnel where he could access the building’s basement, which, also according to Tosh, hadn’t been used since the seventies. He scribbled all of his notes down in his diary and left it at home, knowing if he got caught with it, he’d get put in prison for a very long time. He reached the side door. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he produced a lock pick. Getting on one knee, he inserted the pick. “Oh good,” A slurpey voice greeted, “I was hoping it would be you.” Ianto froze, almost too afraid to turn around. His heart dropped to his stomach, a lump in his throat, a sour taste in his mouth. He stood slowly to face the creature.

Ianto nearly gagged at the sight he was seeing. The Hollowcall was six feet tall, had bony arms and legs with razor thin fingers. Its body mimicked that on Jabba the Hutt, it was a wonder that the legs were even supporting the body. The thing was pale, so pale, but it oozed a black liquid that Ianto suspected was tar. Tattered remains of clothing were sucked into the folds of the monster. “Who are you?” Ianto demanded putting up a face of false bravery, “rather, who did you used to be?”

“Me? Who did I used to be?” The voice wheezed and bubbled as if speaking underwater and coated in Caro syrup. It laughed, sounding like an obese man suffering from a severe case of diabetes and a fatal heart condition. “I’ve watched you… so…” It licked its lips, “delicious.” Ianto suppressed a shudder. “I couldn’t go after you though. That man of yours would likely shove me through a shredder. So I settled. And it was glorious!”

“You son of a bitch,” Ianto pulled the Torchwood container out of his pocket.

“Ahahahahaha!” Hollowcall doubled over in laughter, “That isn’t going to work on me!”

“We’ll see about that,” Ianto responded with confidence.

“Are you sure?” The Hollowcall was gone and Ianto felt something slimy dripping down his face. Horrified, he realized he was paralyzed.

“ _Move!”_ He commanded his body, “ _MOVE!”_

A slimy, slithery tongue wormed its way out of Hollowcalls mouth and began caressing Ianto face. Ianto squeezed his eyes shut attempting to block out what was happening to him. Suddenly there was a searing pain exploding inside his head, and coursing through his veins. He fell to the ground writhing in sheer agony, and not even the darkness of unconsciousness provided relief.

 

“Is there anything on him to provide any sort of information of who he is?” Paul asked rushing down the hospital hallways with one of the nurses.

“Sorry, Dr. Slippery,” she said handing him a file, “He’s a John Doe...and comatose.”

“Right, thanks Cathy.” Paul’s hand pressed on the door and opened it. “Hello, John Doe.” Paul flipped open the manila file and was greeted by an all too familiar face. His head whipped up confirming the terrifying truth. “Shit.”

 

“How many times have you disassembled and assembled, arranged and rearranged that pile of rainbow paperclips? Besides, shouldn’t you be working?” Luna asked sitting on the edge of Rory’s desk. She twiddled with a red paperclip before setting it down on the desk.

“I’m on break. Shouldn’t you be at work?” Rory picked up the red paperclip Luna placed down and added it to the long chain hanging around his neck.

“Day off, you know that.”

“Sorry.” Rory clipped another one, “By the way, have you been to that new bakery on 12th?”

“There’s a new bakery?” Luna picked up a green paperclip, beginning her own chain.

“Want to go after work?”

“Sure.”

Rory’s mobile buzzed; he pulled it out, “Hi Paul. What are you-?” Rory pulled the phone from his ear and handed to Luna.

Luna’s eyebrows crinkled and took the phone from Rory, “Hi Mr. Slippery, what can I do for you?”

Paul’s voice flooded the earpiece, “Are you sitting down?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t panic too much.”

“Why?” Luna stretched out the word, her heart already beginning to ache. Rory sat up straighter, on edge, his ears straining to listen.

“Well, you father-”

Luna panicked, jumping up, her voice becoming shrill and rapid, “Oh my god! What!? My dad!? What happened to my dad!? Is he alright!? Please say he’s alright!” Rory jumped up too and leapt around his desk, grabbing Luna’s arm.

“I’m afraid he’s comatose.”

Luna dropped Rory’s phone, her body beginning to shake and her legs weakening. The expression on her face was a mixture of disbelief and fear. It was the fear of losing Ianto just as she lost Jack. Rory was quick to wrap his arms around Luna, comforting her, the best he could. She leaned into his touch and then her face crumpled like she was five.

 

“I’m so sorry!” Estelle said to Luna, reassuringly rubbing her shoulder.

Luna looked to Paul, “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

Paul shook his head, “We just have to wait for him to wake up.”

“Do you even know what caused it?”

“I’m sorry, there are no obvious signs of anything.”

“Right…” Luna looked down at her feet. “Sorry,” she mumbled and got up to leave.

 

Luna shuffled out and into her father’s room. The door shut behind her, Luna spotted her father’s diary and his laptop on the bed. “Dad works too hard…..What was he working on that made him fall into a coma?” She picked up the diary opening it to the last entry. She hesitated a second then pushed away all doubts of intruding on Ianto’s privacy. “What the bloody…” Luna muttered in confusion. All she was staring at were weird pictures and notes of some kind of creature called a Hollowcall and it all somehow tied back into Jack’s disappearance. “What?” Luna went back a few pages. It was all the same. Notes on different types of aliens and something called Torchwood. “A book maybe?” She wondered. It could possibly be Ianto's way of coping without Jack. Grabbing Ianto’s computer, she opened it. Password protected. Luna tapped her fingers lightly on the keyboard. “Password…” Luna scratched the space key then typed, _Torchwood._ Wrong. _Jack._ Wrong. A few more moments passed. _Janto._ Correct. Luna rolled her eyes and then maneuvered her way into her father’s personal files. It was exactly the same as his diary. Aliens and monsters. Checking his recently added folder, she found a file entitled _Hollowcall._ Clicking it, her eyes were filled with images and documents on this creature, her father, and something called a time agent. Luna shook her head, “Fake. This has all got to be fake. There are no such things as aliens or-or monsters….” Luna stepped away from the computer running her hands through her hair and pacing the room. “It looks real enough though…No! How am I possibly considering this!?”

“Ianto?” Luna jumped at the sound of Gwen’s voice coming from the computer. “Listen, I found more on the Hollowcall. Tosh says that there was another Rift spike earlier. It was about three in the morning, your time. Hello? Ianto, are you there?”

 _“Three in the morning…Dad didn’t come home last night and now he’s in a coma…”_ Luna ran around the side of the bed, facing Gwen. “Tell me everything.”


	8. Damsel Not in Distress

Luna crept alongside the ally that Ianto had previously walked. She’d gotten Gwen to tell her everything on Torchwood and the creature that took her father. It was all a rough translation, but it made do. Slipping the lock pick into the lock, Luna made a crude attempt and opening it. “What are you doing?!” Rory’s baritone cut through the darkness and the silence.

 

10 Hours Earlier…

“Listen, I just wanted to say-”

“Later, Rory.” Luna pushed passed him quickly and out of the house.

“What?” Confused, Rory ran after her. In all the time they’ve known each other, Luna had never ignored Rory and even when she did it was usually followed with an apology. Grabbing his coat that Luna had dubbed, “the dead Muppet”, he ran after her and into the crowded streets on New York. He felt like a stalker as he followed her across the city. First to Central Park; she seemed to be scouting out the area. By ten o’clock at night Luna had worked her way to the Empire State building and walked around the block for at least two hours. “What is she doing?” He muttered. Luna stopped at a small café and just sat re-reading _The Hobbit._ Rory contemplated going inside and confronting her, but decided against it, and sat on the side of the building. Somebody threw a coin at him. Another two and a half hours passed and Luna still hasn’t budged. Rory shivered; over the past two hours, he’d gotten loose change tossed at him and derogative names thrown. Then finally, _finally,_ she moved. Luna got up and made her way back to the Empire State building. He watched as she disappeared around a corner and into a darkened ally. Concerned for her safety, and with morbid curiosity, Rory ran after her. Carefully peeking around the corner, he was barely able to make out her shape crouched by the door and about to break in. “What are you doing!?” He shouted, running to her. She jumped startled and mortified that she’d been found out. He grabbed the lock picks. “What are these!?” He held them in an accusing fist.

“Shut up!” Luna growled, “Keep your voice down!” She peered behind him, an air of complete paranoia.

Rory did as he was told, “What are you doing?” He hissed.

“What does it look like?”

“Breaking and entering! That’s illegal! Why are you doing this!? Have you done this before!?”

“Just shut up and listen!” Luna snapped slamming her hand over Rory’s mouth to stop any further accusations. Rory gripped Luna’s wrist pulling it away, but didn’t let go.

“I’m listening.”

Luna took a deep breath. “You’re going to think I’m completely psycho, but bear with me until I finish, okay?” Rory nodded. “Alright…” She took another deep breath. “When my father slipped into a coma, I was confused as to why. So I went snooping in his stuff; his computer, his diary, etc. Well, what I found was something called Torchwood and apparently they deal with…with aliens and something called a Rift. It’s this crack, I think, that runs through all of time and space, and there just happens to be one in Cardiff. The day my father went missing, the Rift had an energy spike and something came out of it. Those lights we saw on Christmas, that wasn’t any natural phenomena, that was the Rift! The alien is called a Hollowcall and it took my father as food. I don’t know why. But Ianto was investigating and the alien got him too. He’s in a coma, and the only way to wake him up is to find the alien and my dad.”

Rory stared at Luna in compete disbelief. “You’re crazy. That’s ludicrous!”

Luna pulled her hand away. “I know! I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true! It’s all true!”

Rory shook his head and pulled out his mobile. “I’m calling Paul. He can help. You’re just—”

Luna froze, her eyes growing wide staring at something behind him. Confused at first, Rory took a step closer to Luna. “What are you-?” Something cold and heavy dripped onto Rory’s shoulder. He turned around fast; a large gloopy _thing_ rose above him. It smelled repugnant, like rotting flesh. His mouth dropped open, his mobile dropping from his hands. _It_ smiled, or at least he thought it was smiling. _It_ had teeth resembling broken glass and nails. Rory’s heartbeat picked up, a wash of mixed emotions swirling from his stomach into a bottomless abyss. “ _She’s right…”_ He thought…then, “ _OH MY GOD SHE’S RIGHT!?”_ Rory backed away slowly, his legs transforming into jelly.

“RUN!” She screamed, her hand was holding his and they were running for their lives. They never made it to the end of the ally. That _thing_ was fast. Really fast. Everything became a hazy blur of motion. The next thing Rory knew, he was lying on the ground, his own warm blood dripping from his head and a painful burning from within. His vision turned red as he began blinking blood out of his eyes. He gasped for breath, his mouth open like a gaping fish out of water.

Luna watched in blatant horror as Rory was truck across the head, raised up, and then slammed into the ground as if he were a pile of sticks. Rory landed hard on his back, a loud cracking noise followed and blood leaked out of him like a runny faucet. His mouth was open gasping for breath. Luna grabbed the nearest object and threw it. The Hollowcall howled with pain as Luna’s object hit it and burst, showering it with a fine dust. The Hollowcall let off a loud creaking, like a car’s cooling engine…and then… it was gone. Luna almost collapsed to the ground, her knees nearly giving out. She made her way to Rory and grabbed his face with both hands. “Rory?” She managed to choke out. “Rory!”

“Yeah,” Rory coughed, finally catching his breath, “I’m…I’m…I’m…”

“We need to get you to hospital, to your Dad.” Luna helped Rory to stand, draping his arm over her shoulder.


	9. Becoming More

“What happened!?” Paul demanded, inspecting Rory’s bashed head and broken ribs. Luna stood quietly in the corner, her eyes on the ground, ashamed. She hadn’t meant to drag Rory into this whole mess.

Rory winced as Paul bandaged his ribs. “I got mugged.” Luna’s head whipped up and caught his eye. Without breaking eye contact, “I was working the late shift and was going to meet Luna at the new bakery. I got mugged on the way and Luna got worried and found me.” She hung her head again in shame. “Ow!” Rory hissed moving away from Paul.

 

“Why did you lie for me?” Luna asked. They sat in Luna’s bedroom, in their pajamas, with Rory holding an ice pack to his damaged side.

“He wouldn’t exactly believe me. Hell, even I wouldn’t believe me!” He went quiet for a bit. “But... I’m glad you’re right.”

“Are you?” She questioned skeptically.

“It means that you’re not crazy.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“S-sorry! I d-didn’t mean it that way!”

Luna let off a tiny smile, “I know…thanks.”

Luna’s door swung open and Edwin and Daniel made themselves known. “Hey!” Daniel pushed Edwin out of the way and entered the room. Edwin pushed himself in anyway seating himself next to Luna. “Dad says you got mugged!”

“Yeah.” Rory said.

“Really?” Edwin demanded with skeptics, “Are you sure it wasn’t just…you know.” He grinned broadly doing several enthusiastic pelvic thrusts.

Luna smacked him hard, pushing him off the bed. He fell with a thump smacking his head on the floor.

“Oh come on!” Daniel laughed, “Don’t deny it! You and her just-”

“Get out.” Rory’s voice was soft, but menacing. It was a tone that no one had ever heard from him before.

The room went deadly silent. Daniel and Edwin shuffled out. “Geez,” Daniel mumbled, “Don’t start PMS-ing.”

“Thanks,” Luna said as soon as they were gone.

“So what happened?” Rory changed the subject, “I mean, how did you-?”

“Salt.”

“Salt?”

“I just picked up the nearest object and it happened to be a handful of road salt.” Luna took a deep breath. “Rory, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s already my fault you got hurt tonight. I mean, what’ll happen if…” She shook her head, “I won’t have that happen.”

“And what about you?” Rory demanded, “What happens if I’m not there and you’re the one who gets hurt. Or dies!” He shook his head, “I’d never forgive myself. Besides, I’m already involved. I’m going with you and you can’t convince me otherwise.”

Luna nodded, “Okay then.” Luna got up and locked the door. Going over to the bed, she pulled all her father’s notes from under the bed as well as his laptop. She opened it, “Here’s what I’ve got.”

 

“Owen,” Tosh wrapped her arms around his waist, “I’m worried about Ianto. He hasn’t been in contact in a while.”

“Don’t worry, Tosh. He’s probably busy trying to appear normal. He’s got Luna to look after.”

“She’s twenty-one, she can look after herself.” Tosh argued, “Besides, with all the crap we live through, isn’t it better she’s living in ignorance?”

Owen’s video chat opened and rang for him, “See, that’s probably him.” He reached out pressing the answer button. Color drained from his already pale face. “Shit.” He turned to his wife. “I spoke too soon.”

“Aunt Gwen? Are you there?” Luna’s voice called, “Listen. I made a really bad mistake and Ianto-“ Owen’s face jumped onto the screen, “Uncle Owen!?” Luna’s voice screeched from the other line. This drew in an automatic and panicked rush from Tosh and Gwen. Both faces were forced into Luna and Rory’s view. “Auntie Tosh!? Holy crap!”

“What do you mean ‘Holy Crap’? What are you doing with Ianto’s computer? How did you-?”

“Ianto’s in hospital, in a coma, and I don’t know what to do! I searched through his diary and stuff and I know all about Torchwood and the thing that took him!” Luna blurted out fast.

“Gwen, did you know about this?” Tosh accused.

“She called earlier begging for help! Ianto was in trouble; what was I supposed to do?”

This caused a long and astonished pause, then, “Who the bloody hell is he?” Owen pointed at Rory.

“Rory Slippery.” Rory introduced himself.

“You told him!?” Gwen accused.

“To be fair,” Tosh reminded, “You told Rhys.”

“Uncle Rhys knows!? Never mind!” Luna snapped, “What about my dads!? I need them back!”

“I’m assuming that you’ve already tried to go after Hollowcall considering,” Gwen said nodding at Rory’s injuries.

“Yeah,” Rory said, “We found a nice Achilles heel. Salt. Luna threw a hardened lump at it and I suppose it burned him. Saved me from dying.” He gave a small smile in Luna’s direction before redirecting it to the video chat.

“Where did you find Hollowcall?”Tosh asked moving to her computer.

“An alleyway behind the empire state building. It was the last place my Dad’s notes said it was.”

There was a moment of silence except for the sound of Tosh’s typing, the Rift monitor, and the occasional screech of the pterodactyl. “Right,” Tosh said, still typing, “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

 

Luna clenched her hands around the bag of salt. Her palms were sticky with sweat, her heart pounding fast. She stole a glance at Rory who was fidgeting nervously. He tugged at the corners of his wooly hat. He caught her eye and gave a slight nod. Both proceeded forward and made it to the door. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Luna managed to get the door open with Rory on the lookout and armed with salt. The door creaked open on rusted hinges. Swallowing hard, Luna peered around the darkened room. A pungent odor of decay and stale air bombarded their senses. There was no sign of Hollowcall or any life form. Rory handed Luna a flashlight. Proceeding with caution, both flipped on their flashlights and began to explore. A sweep of the light revealed a large empty storage room crawling with all sorts of creepy crawlers. Luna nearly jumped out of her skin as a cockroach scurried over her left foot. “Hey,” Rory whispered lightly gripping Luna’s forearm, “over there.” He swung his light over to a corner where they glimpsed something shining in a pile of blue. “What is that?” He wondered aloud. Luna shrugged and both crept their way to the shining bauble.

As soon as their eyes rested on it, Luna’s face drained of all color. “Holy-” The shiny bauble was one of the buttons on Jack’s signature authentic World War II coat.

“Luna…” Rory dragged out her name slowly and without taking his eyes off the horrendous sight in front of him.

“Hmmm?” Luna’s sight drifted over to Rory’s light, “Oh my God, Dad!” Luna rushed over to the unconscious Jack Harkness. He was covered in his own blood, vomit, and other bodily fluids. The only sign that Jack was still alive was the steady, but labored breaths he took. Luna got on her knees and attempted to wake him, or at least, she hoped, get some sort of reaction out of him. “Dad?” She choked out softly and then sucked in her breath forcing herself to stay strong, “Can you hear me? It’s me, Luna, your daughter. Please wake up.” Luna reached out gingerly touching Jack’s face with her fingertips. His skin was cold like a corpse and the texture was beginning to feel like Hollowcall.

A loud thump behind Luna caused her blood to run cold. She knew what had happened even before she turned and saw Rory’s unconscious body. “How touching.” Luna spun around fast to once again face Hollowcall. He was angry; the burns from the salt still prominent on its skin. “You know what I should do?”  He circled them with a predatory gaze. “I’m going to skin you alive, you little bitch. I’m going to burn you in the same way you burned me.”

“With salt?” Luna squeaked out in a poor attempt at humor.

Hollowcall laughed with an obvious confidence. “I’ll even do you a favor. I’ll wake up daddy dearest, over there, along with your boy toy and they can watch you die.”

“W-we could sort this o-out you know?” Luna backed away slowly.

“I can smell it you know,” Hollowcall mimicked Luna’s terrified tone, “you’re fear!” He screamed the word ‘fear’ causing Luna to jump and squeeze her eyes shut. Hollowcall grabbed her face in one hand squeezing it hard, “This isn’t any dream, _princess_. I’m going to kill you.”  Saying thus, Hollowcall’s tongue slithered its way out of his mouth and began wrapping itself around Luna’s neck. She whimpered with fear, not wanting this to happen. She didn’t want the alien tongue sliding all over her face, her fathers to be in comas, her best friend to be dying on the floor, and most of all she wished this alien had never interfered in her life. There was a sudden roar of agony and Luna was released from Hollowcall’s suffocating grasp. She fell to the ground wheezing for air, her lungs greedily sucking in oxygen.

Rory had thrown a large handful of salt at the creature. Luna stumbled to her feet, messily groping for her bag of salt, while Rory continued throwing the grainy white substance. With shaking hands, she tore the bag open, and siezed her opportunity. Hollowcall was on the ground cowering. Taking the full bag, Luna got as close as her courage allowed and dumped the whole thing over it's body.

The next few moments was like a scene straight out of _The Wizard of Oz._ Hollowcall began to screech with the intensity of seven trains skidding to a stop at full speed. It's body contorted, twisting into inhuman shapes before bursting into sludge like a Slitheeen being murdered with vinager. Both Rory and Luna jumped when the creature exploded coating the pair in the creature's bodily fluid.

There was a loud and raspy gasp and Captain Jack's body jerked upright as he gained consciousness for the span of five seconds. Before he blacked out again, he thought he saw the image of his daughter and a stranger standing and covered in some strange goo that smelled of sulfur and oysters.

 

"Please!" Luna shouted into the ER, "Somebody! We need a doctor!" She and Rory had Jack between them, his arms slung over their shoulders. People stared at the strange couple covered in a brownish-purple slime carrying an unconscience man wearing a World War II coat. Nurses ran over calling for a gurney who was promtly followed by Paul.

"What happened?" Paul demanded, checking Jack's vitals.

"We don't know," Rory lied to his father, again, "We just found him."

"Help him," Luna pleaded, "He's my dad!"

Paul knew they were both lying to him but decided not to press the issue. He'd get it out of them later, but right now, he had a patient to take care of.


	10. Choice

While Jack was getting taken away, Luna and Rory checked in with Torchwood. Tosh answered Luna and Rory's call with extreme worry flooding her voice. "What happened? Are you alright? What about Jack and Ianto?"

"We're okay, surprisingly." Rory said realizing that Luna was shaking too much to properly speak, "We got Mr. Harkness and we melted the thing with salt. Actually, Luna melted the thing by pouring the whole bag over it."

"Listen to me very carefully," Owen said, "I've been analyzing some past files and we need an antidote to wake up Jack and Ianto."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, "Dad woke up for five seconds."

"That was just the connection between them severing. You need to cure him of the residue left behind. Without it, they're both going to die."

"So what do we do?"

"You need a sample of its blood, or in your case, it's bodily fluids. You don't need a lot."

"That's not a problem, we're covered in the stuff. What's next?" Rory snagged a test tube and a popsicle stick from a nearby cart and began to scrape the goo from his and Luna's clothing.

Owen took a breath, "Here's the tricky thing. You need a familial DNA sample mixed into the creature's blood."

"Okay," Luna said, "I've got that-"

"Blood." Owen said, "It needs to be your blood. And there needs to be a lot of it."

"How much?"

"To save both Jack and Ianto....two pints each…so four in total..."

"That doesn't sound like a lot though." Luna pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Rory answered softly, "It's enough that it either kills you or makes you pass out."

"I'm doing it," She argued, "They're my parents and besides, don't worry about me. We're in the best hospital in New York. I'll be okay. Is that all Uncle?"

"Yeah. That's all. You need to administer it through their IV bags, can you do that?"

"Yeah. So it's a bit of the creature’s blood and two pints of mine mixed together, no problem. Thanks." Luna hung up the phone and turned to Rory. "So," She said, "Let's do this."

They snuck into an empty hospital room with Rory carrying two IV bags already partially filled with the creature substance, and one fresh needle. Luna rolled up her sleeve, "I really hope you know what you're doing. Don't kill me."

Rory forced a smile, "I really hope so too." He took her arm and pushed the needle into a vein and watched the blood flow into the bag. When one was almost full, he switched out the bags. Rory held Luna's hand and watched her eyes flutter as she became drowsy from blood loss. The second bag filled, he pulled the needle from her arm and stashed the blood bags in his coat. Gently lifting her up, Rory made his way out calling for help saying that she fainted.

 

Captain Jack Harkness awoke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor. It was a sound he'd woken up to many times before, but it never got any less irritating. " _Of all the sounds to wake up to,"_ He mused, " _Why does it have to be that one?"_ He was however curious about how he ended up in the hospital. The last thing he remembered was hunting Weevels with Ianto and a promise of sex. He fully opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. It was a standard hospital but there wasn't much else that he could see because of a blue curtain separating him from the other patients in the room. Judging from the steady individualized beeping, he deduced that there were two other people in the room with him. Soft whispers floated from his right; he couldn't decipher who it was, a male and a female. Married? His curtain was pushed aside and a male with red curly-ish hair poked his head through. Jack couldn't help but have a nagging that he's seen this person before. The person's eyes widened and he shoved the whole curtain aside calling out, "He's awake!" With the curtain finally pulled to one side, Jack could finally see the persons to this right.

"Dad!" You're alright!" His daughter exclaimed sitting up from her bed. She had an IV with blood flowing into her body while the boy remained at her side. Ianto, lay asleep on the other side of her, hooked up to oxygen, an IV, and a heart monitor.

"What happened!?" He demanded, panic blossoming in his chest, "Who's he!?"

"You got captured by this alien thing almost a year ago and father couldn't find you so we moved to America and then he did find you but your life force was being eaten by this alien thing called a Hollowcall and then father got hurt but he's okay now and then Rory and I went through father's stuff and found this place called Torchwood and then we went to find you and we did find you and we killed the alien and we got you to the hospital but then we needed an antidote that Uncle Owen said might kill me but I did it anyway and then now you and father are okay." Luna gasped out in one entirely long and stringy sentence.

"You died!?"

"No, Rory saved me. I almost did though. Rory told me that I passed out, but I don't remember that part."

 

"Thank you so much for taking care of us," Ianto said shaking hands with Paul and Estelle.

Estelle smiled, "It was a pleasure. We're going to miss having you around." The plane for Cardiff was leaving in an hour, they were going home. With Jack found, there was no need to stay in America any longer. Edwin and Daniel had come to accept the fact that Luna was never going to reciprocate their romantic gestures. Paul, Estelle, Daniel, and Edwin went to the car giving Rory and Luna privacy to say their good-bye.

"I'm going to miss you." Rory said.

"Me too," Luna responded softly, "You should come to Cardiff sometime."

Rory nodded, "I will, promise." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Jack cleared his throat stepping forward. He put his hand out revealing two tiny white round pills. "This," he explained, "is Retcon. It's selective amnesia. You'll forget all of Torchwood and anything associated with it."

"I'm not sure if I understand," Luna said.

"I'm not forcing you actually swallow the pills. I'm telling you to take one and choose." Luna opened her mouth to say something. "On your own." Jack gave a stern look to Luna and Rory. Avoiding eye contact with each other they took the tiny white pill and clasped it in their hands.

 


	11. Choice

"Hey! Welcome home!" Ianto, Jack, and Luna were greeted by all of Torchwood. Hugs went all around with calls of "Good to have you back!"

Rhys took his arm and lumped it over Luna's shoulder. "So," he said, "you've finally joined Torchwood, eh?"

"What's Torchwood?" Luna queried, "Is that a new programme on the telly?" Everyone went silent as they stared at Jack and Ianto.

"Sort of," Jack said quickly, "go and unpack, or sleep. I know how tired you get." She nodded and bounded up the stairs to her bedroom. Ianto followed in tow giving Jack a warning look.

As soon as she was gone, Gwen turned to Jack and smacked him as hard as she could. "You used Retcon on her!? She's your daughter!"

"I gave her a choice," Jack defended, "She took it!”  
Gwen smacked him, “What is wrong with you?”

“It was voluntary!”

 

“Luna,” Ianto stood in the doorway of his daughter’s room, “Are you…alright?”

She was already unpacking her belongings; placing her clothes on her bed. Luna looked at her dad, her lips pressed tightly together, “I don’t know, Father. I really don’t. I feel like I’ve forgotten something important.” She put a shirt down and sat on her bed.

“Could it be that you miss Rory?” Ianto sat next to her.

“Well, yeah, but it’s…I don’t know…” Luna ran her hand through her hair and let off a frustrated sight. “It’s like I’m trying to…to…It’s like I’ve got brain damage or something and I can’t remember who I am or….or anything.”

“I do believe that’s probably my fault. I uprooted our entire family, moved us to America and we’ve lived there for over a year. We were just getting settled.”

“But I don’t understand why we came back. I know that Dad came back, and I know that it’s important that he did, but I can’t remember the reason why. I thought he left us, that’s why we moved; to get a fresh start, in America. And that’s what we were doing. And I was happy with that. But then he shows up again and now we’re back to where we started.”

“I see…” Ianto was quiet for a bit, “You’re angry at your dad for leaving.”

“Yes!” Luna stood up waving her hands angrily, “Yes! I’m angry at him! It’s all his fault! I got used to being in America, I….” She stopped and sat back down with a short huff. “I don’t remember being so angry at him, and I want to know why.”

 

“Have you talked to your daughter yet?” Ianto was filing away the Hollowcall information and looked over his shoulder at Jack.

“No, why?” Jack said.

“She’s angry at you, you know.”

“Angry? At me? What for?”

Ianto sighed; sometimes Jack could be incredibly thick. “She took the Retcon, she doesn’t remember anything. She believes that you walked out on us. When we moved to American, I told her we were trying to get a fresh start, and then she believes that you showed up out of blue and we go back to Wales pretending like nothing’s ever happened.”

“What am I supposed to tell her?”

“I don’t know, Jack. Tell her that you went into a depression and needed to leave for a while. Just talk to her.”

 

Later that night, there was a knock on Luna’s bedroom door. “Go away.” Luna called out. She was lying face down on her bed, her laptop open with a Skype call to Nick.

“Is that dad?” Nick questioned.

“Probably,” Luna said, “I don’t care. I don’t want to talk to him.”

“You’re going to have to face him sometime.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you are.”

The door opened anyway, and Jack stepped in. “Are you busy?”

“Yes.”

“No, she isn’t.” Nick called from the computer, “Bye Luna, I’ll call tomorrow.”

“No, Nick wait-!” Too late. “Damn it.” Luna glared at her blank screen and then focused her glare at Jack watching him step into her room awkwardly.

“Right, okay.” Jack shuffled on his feet, uncomfortable under his daughter’s unwavering and cruel glare. “Look,” he began proffering a hand, “I get that you’re angry with me. I left, and it was wrong.”

“Wrong!? Of course it’s wrong!” Luna couldn’t help herself, “You _left_ us Dad! We had no idea where you’d gone! Or what we were supposed to think! Father always looked so sad, and you were just off having the bloody time of your life somewhere else! I thought we were a family! I never thought that you were just going to up and leave! And then you come back and suddenly, everything is supposed to be alright again! It just isn’t fair!”

“I know, I know, it isn’t fair that I left. It wasn’t fair to you, your father, or your brother. And I’m sorry for that.”

“So then tell me,” Luna said, “Tell me the truth about why you left? I mean, after Dad passed out from working too hard and then Rory and I find you in some bloody crack den, what am I supposed to think?”

“ _So that’s what she thinks...”_ Jack thought, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He looked Luna straight in the eye, “I need you to believe me, and trust that what I say is true.”

“No.”

“At least can you listen?”

“Okay.”

Jack took a deep breath as if he were about to divulge a huge secret. “You may not believe this, and I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to, but I…I’m working for MI-5.”

“Bullshit.”

Jack shook his head and then pulled out some psychic paper, “It’s true.” He handed it to her. Luna took it, but didn’t open it.

“Continue.” She ordered.

“I was only supposed to be gone a about a week, but it turned into something worse. Originally, I was supposed to be undercover in an international smuggling ring but I ended up getting myself into a dangerous situation. My cover was blown and they took me with them. I’m not going to tell you the rest, because that’s…a bit much for you to hear.”

“So where does Father come into play? Is he MI-5 too?”

“Ianto…Ianto Jones…that man….” Jack let off a small smile, “He is not MI-5, but he contacted some people that I know and they helped him to find me. Under the guise of branching out the travel shop, he took you to America. He knew that he could protect you there, with him. And since Nick was in Uganda, he wasn’t worried too much about him.”

“Are the Slippery’s part of MI-5?”

“No,” Jack said, “They’re completely unaware of the situation.” There was a short pause. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect your father to get attacked, but…”

Luna nodded, “Makes sense.”

Jack looked at his daughter, “So how did you find me?”

She paused and then opened her mouth as if to talk and then looked confused, “I don’t know…I mean I do, but the memory seems fuzzy. Rory and I were going back to the house and I think that something in an alley caught our attention. It sounded like someone was in trouble, so we went in the place and found you. Rory called an ambulance and took you to hospital.”

Jack nodded, “And I thank you for that. If you hadn’t, I don’t think I would still be alive.”

Luna handed back the psychic paper, “I’m sorry I was so mean.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I probably shouldn’t have hid that information from you. But I guess I was just trying to protect you. I didn’t want you worried that I might not come home one day.”

“You’re good though, aren’t you Dad?”

“I would say that I am.”

“Then, I’m not afraid.”


	12. Have a Happily Ever After

**New York, A Few Years Later**

“Woah!” Rory jumped backwards as Luna rushed passed him doing an awkward spin while balancing a plate full on fake fruit.

“Not sorry!” Luna called back disappearing into the kitchen. She placed the fake fruit on the table and then frowned. “Ugh! It just doesn’t look right!”

Rory came over and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, it’ll be okay. Just relax. They’re just your parents.”

Luna laughed, “Cute, Rory. _Just my parents_?” She moseyed her way out of Rory’s grasp to adjust the fake fruit again. “I have to make everything perfect! Prove to them that I’m a capable adult!” She turned to her husband. “Where are Jamie and Jake?”

“In their rooms.”

“Are they ready yet?”

“…I’ll go ask…”

“You do that.”

Rory turned and left bounding up the stairs to grab their two children. Luna reached out to adjust the fake fruit bowl one more time. Then there was a sudden knock at the door and Luna almost jumped out of her skin. She bolted to the door hastily fixing herself before opening the door with a pleasant smile. “Dad! Father!” Jack and Ianto stepped through the door as Luna opened it wider.  They hugged their daughter with bright smiles.

“Where’s our grandkids?” Jack teased.

As if on cue, Jamie and Jake were tumbling down the stairs, “GRANDPA!”

“There they are!” Jack swooped up both kids at the same time.

Rory came up with a smile and put his arm around Luna. “Hey, Ianto, Jack, it’s good to see you.”

Ianto nodded, “It’s good to see you too. Glad you’re taking care of Luna.”

“I’d say it’s the other way around.” Rory laughed, “She’s a wonderful person.”

Jack hefted his two grandchildren over placing them into Ianto’s arms. The children laughed climbing all over him. Jamie dropped and grabbed Ianto’s hand. “Come on Grandpa, I wanna show you my Lego house!” Ianto smiled and let them drag him into the living room. Jack, Luna, and Rory followed.

            “So,” Jack said looking at Luna, “Are you alright here? You don’t visit much.”

            “I call.”

            “I know.” Jack paused, “But other than opening a branch of the travel agency here, what else have you done.”

            “Rory.”

            Jack smirked and then turned as a bookshelf caught his eye. He walked over and Luna followed. Rory retreated to Ianto and his children sensing a moment that he didn’t need to be a part of. There was a book sitting on the shelf, sitting on top of the others since there was not more room for it. “ _A Journal of Impossible Things_ by _Verity Newman_ …” Jack read aloud. He picked up another book, “ _The Angel’s Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery_ by _Melody Malone.”_ Jack read.

“It’s interesting,” Luna said, “It’s got this idea that there are Angels in New York and they move so fast that you can’t blink or else they’ll get you.” She pulled another book from the self, showing it to Jack. “This is Jamie’s favorite.” She handed it to him.

 _“Summer Falls_ by _Amelia Williams..._ I like it too.”  He put it down and looked at Luna. “You know, these books all have a similar theme.” He put it down and then another caught his eye. He put the books down and then there was a certain book that Jack felt compelled to grab. “ _The Adventure of Captain Jack and Sir Ianto_ by _Luna Harkenss…_ ” Jack’s eyes glanced to Luna and she shrugged. He opened the book, flipping through and spotted an illustration. It was a very familiar illustration, a nightmare that Jack knew he would never be able to forget. He flipped the book over so that Luna was looking at the image. “You drew this?”

She shook her head, “Rory did.”

“It’s very imaginative. It looks like something out of a nightmare.”

Luna shrugged, “I suppose so…I mean you learn from life right?”

Jack closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. “Real life, huh?” He leaned against the shelf, “A dream?”

“More of a nightmare, I would say.”

“Looks like it.”

“I uh…” Luna reached out and grabbed it again, “I thought it was just a dream…I mean at first. But I started telling Rory and when he started to fill in the blanks-”

“You didn’t take the Retcon, did you?” Jack said.

“No.” Luna said cracking a small smile, “No we did not.”

 

**The End**


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